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Need help repairing Richdel 205 and 2400!

I have a 4-zone irrigation system with 3 Richdel 250-S valves and 1 Richdel 2400-S valve. Recently, 2 zones have quit working. There are a couple questions I have about the repair.

First, any links for diagrams of these series of valves would be most helpful.

Anyway... about the repair. I was informed the diaphrams were most likely the culprit. I need to know what parts would be compatible.

A specific problem I had was when I notived the 2400 valve. I noticed after trying to get it to work this time it was making a little quiet "put-put" noise despite being OFF on the timer. I wiggled the black solenoid on top and suddenly the zone came on. Problem - I could NOT shut it OFF! I now have my water shut off at the main. My question with why this happens fits in with the next question:

How do these valves work? Are they PUMPS at all? Or do they simply use current to open and close a valve, plain and simple? Could the problem with my 2400 valve be that it no longer will shut off, maybe because the diaphram is SO shot?

With the 2400, might I also need the solenoid, too?

Anyway... last piece of information I need to know is this: how do I open the 2400? The 205 series look like there are a number of screws. Does the whole top of the 2400 unscrew? If so... I'm not sure what kind of tool I could use for this purpose. I surely couldn't fit the handle of an oversize pipe wrech down into that hole!

I have a 4-zone irrigation system with 3 Richdel 250-S valves and 1 Richdel 2400-S valve. Recently, 2 zones have quit working. There are a couple questions I have about the repair.

First, any links for diagrams of these series of valves would be most helpful. <b>You should have a supply house in your area to get those....I don't know if SW sells parts..if you cannot find one, let me know I can get them for you.</b>

Anyway... about the repair. I was informed the diaphrams were most likely the culprit. I need to know what parts would be compatible.

A specific problem I had was when I notived the 2400 valve. I noticed after trying to get it to work this time it was making a little quiet "put-put" noise despite being OFF on the timer. I wiggled the black solenoid on top and suddenly the zone came on. Problem - I could NOT shut it OFF!<b>Solenoid may be loose..it threads into that area...tighten it and see what happens.....it could also be broken....make sure it is hand tight.</b> I now have my water shut off at the main. My question with why this happens fits in with the next question:

How do these valves work? Are they PUMPS at all? Or do they simply use current to open and close a valve, plain and simple? Could the problem with my 2400 valve be that it no longer will shut off, maybe because the diaphram is SO shot?
<b>
There is water on top and on the bottom of the diaphram when it is closed...this is equal "pressure" on top and bottom. When the timer activates the solenoid...which also has water inside of it....the plunger in the solenoid lifts up...there is a port under that solenoid that allows the water to come off the top of the diaphram....thus allowing the diaphram to open and allowing the water to run through the valve....When the plunger goes down after its cycle..it seals the port, allowing water back on top, which closes the diaphram, stopping the water. If the diaphram has pin holes or a tear..this cannot work properly...effectively not allowing water to remain on top or to port off the top...

Therefore, if you replace the diaphrams the problems should be solved...in most cases </b>

With the 2400, might I also need the solenoid, too?
<b>Solenoids last a long time in most cases...but I would buy the valves themselves and replace diaphrams, solenoids, and all other parts..bonnet spring etc. </b>

Anyway... last piece of information I need to know is this: how do I open the 2400? The 205 series look like there are a number of screws. Does the whole top of the 2400 unscrew? If so... I'm not sure what kind of tool I could use for this purpose. I surely couldn't fit the handle of an oversize pipe wrech down into that hole!

<b>You should be able to unscrew by hand...use a towel or leather gloves to get a good grip...you can also use large channel lock pliers in a vertical position...be careful not to squeeze to hard though.</b>
Please help as I need to take care of this.

Look below for my comments. Right now my #1 priority is getting the 2400 to stop being ON all the time so at least i can have my water back on. I will try to open it tonight (by flashlight) and see if cleaning might help a little.

&lt;&lt; You should have a supply house in your area to get those....I don't know if SW sells parts..if you cannot find one, let me know I can get them for you. &gt;&gt;

Thanks. Not sure what you mean by "SW". While there are several places in infospace under "irrigation supplies", I really have no idea which ones would have what I need. Many of these places are clearly installers. As for Home Depot and Lowe's; I was there anyway so I looked. Most of the valves they carried, namely RainBird, Orbit, Toro and Lawn Genie, looked REMARKABLY close; almost as if made by the same supplier...? But even if so I don't know what models match.

Any idea how to spot a good supply store? Gosh I hope they're open over the weekend. Does Irritrol have any "where to buy" link?

&lt;&lt; Solenoid may be loose..it threads into that area...tighten it and see what happens.....&gt;&gt;

Ironically, on the 2400 valve, the one now perpetually on, the solenoid was OFF. It had fallen off. So I cleaned it and stuck it on to see. I tried turning it on but it didn't go. It was after shutting it off at the controller that I heard the putting noise. THEN I tried jostling it gently and it came on. It WAS hand tight. So I tried removing it again to see if it would help; I got a 10' fountain from the hole in the valve.

One thing to note; there was a SMALL leaking from this hole prior to my re-insertion of the solenoid.

&lt;&lt; Solenoids last a long time in most cases...but I would buy the valves themselves and replace diaphrams, solenoids, and all other parts..bonnet spring etc. &gt;&gt;

I have no problem since the whole valve seems comparatively inexpensive. The problem is FINDING it. Question - would the solenoid activate removed from the valve? In other words if I turned it on would I see the plunger move?

In an effort to get my water back on I opened the 2400 and cleaned it out. As you might expect it was FULL of sand. Anyway; I thought I did a pretty good job cleaning it out. I used dish soap on the collar and diaphram and rinsed thoroughly. The diaphram seemed reasonably supple; I expected it would at least not stay on full bore. However I was saddened to find it was on perhaps <b>stronger </b> than before.

I wonder if it could be the solenoid? It's in the "in" position, at least when off. Anyway, it may need replacement in that the threads are looking damaged.

Could it be that water pressure makes it harder to remove? Before when I tried I put two hands on it and gave it a good twist but nothing. So I got leather gloves and prepared to give it all I had this last time - but it came right off with one hand. But this time the water was off...

Look for a distributor of irrigation supplies. If you can't find one, look harder. They're there. They don't care one whit about sales to homeowners, the contractors are where their money comes from. But if you show up, they'll sell to you. After they take care of the contractors.